Volunteering in Sri Lanka

About teaching English in beautiful Sri Lanka.

Spending three weeks in the Lak Aruna foundation in Hingurukaduwa was my second workaway experience, it was so great and so relaxed, most of the time I felt like the dog in the picture. 

And if you were wondering- no, you don't have to be a native speaker to teach English, at least not in this foundation. The volunteers in Lak Aruna don't have to deal with much grammar, their main task is to improve the fluency and pronunciation of the children, so as long as your English is on a good level you can get your tickets to Sri Lanka and spend some amazing time there with the locals. Volunteers are welcome all around the year in Lak Aruna! 

It also doesn't matter if you haven't got any experiences with teaching, it's helpful because you know what to expect, you know some activities, but you will get a little crash course anyway, so don't worry! 

if you're interested in details click here 

About the Lak Aruna foundation 

Lak Aruna was formed in the year 2002, starting with just one computer, Janaka's story about making this project work is truly admirable. It's situated in a little village called Hingurukaduwa (it took me a while to remember this name!) in the Uva province in central Sri Lanka. It offers children of the age 7-17 free English and IT classes. 

Where did we stay?

The volunteers coming to Hingurukaduwa stay in host families in the nearby villages. I don't think there's a better way how to experience another culture than really living with them in one house. Our family was so kind and nice, they made us feel very comfortable in their place. The host mom cooked so well that we didn't even mind having rice three times a day, even though it was a bit challenging for my stomach in the mornings. 

How did our typical day look like? 

Every morning we went to Lak Aruna where we usually just helped out a bit with the grammar class, prepared something for the children or simply did our own things. After that, someone picked us up and we went to someone's home for homeschooling with two or three children usually. We taught them about two hours, doing a lot of speaking activities, reading, working with articles, writings and most popular- playing English games. In the evening we always did some more English activities with the girl that we stayed with. It was so nice to see how most of the kids enjoy learning and improving English!

Saturdays were the busy days, we were teaching a whole class from 8-13 and from 14-16, which was a bit challenging I must say, it was the first time I was teaching a whole class, and keeping so many kids entertained, focused and to teach them something at the same time, fuuh, being a teacher must be hard!

During our free days, we explored some stunning places in central Sri Lanka. We went to the terribly touristic but beautiful Ella, to the most beautiful swimming pool in Diyaluma, to Dunhinda falls where some rude monkeys stole my biscuits and to the cold and cloudy Lipton seat. 

I'm so grateful for this workaway, I can't even describe it properly. Having the opportunity to experience such a different culture in the kindest host family is something you usually don't get when traveling around. Volunteering while traveling is not just to lower your budget, it gives you the chance to do some good and have an even better time during your travels. 

Have you ever volunteered on your travels?